MSU's Jeffery Simmons, Elgton Jenkins collect Conerly and Hull awards

Mississippi State’s Jeffery Simmons was named the 2018 winner of the 23rd annual C Spire Conerly Trophy annually awarded to the top college football player in Mississippi.(Photo: Kelly Donoho, Kelly Donoho/MSU Athletics)

The best offensive lineman that Mississippi State junior nose guard Jeffery Simmons, the 2018 CSpire Conerly Trophy winner, battled this season was Bulldogs' center Elgton Jenkins.

The best defensive lineman that senior center Jenkins, the 2018 Kent Hull Trophy winner, butted heads with all year was Simmons.

"Iron. . ." Simmons said.

"Sharpens. . ." Mississippi State coach Joe Moorhead added.

"Iron," Jenkins concluded.

It was no surprise to Moorhead that Simmons and Jenkins collected Mississippi's most prestigious annual football awards during Tuesday night's 23rd annual Conerly awards dinner at the Country Club of Jackson. The success in Mississippi State's 8-4 regular season record was mostly the result of dominant offensive and defensive line play.

"It was impressive throughout the spring and fall camp watching these guys go against each other," Moorhead said of Simmons and Jenkins. "It's even better to watch them go against the opposition.

Simmons became the seventh Mississippi State player (including double-winner Dak Prescott) to win the Conerly, which honors the top college football player in Mississippi and is named for former Ole Miss and New York Giants star Charley Conerly.

Simmons led all SEC defensive linemen with 59 tackles, including 24 solo tackles. He was fifth in the conference with 14½ tackles for loss and a sack.

He’s the fourth best run defender in the FBS with 28 stops, 22 total pressures and 17 hurries, according to Pro Football Focus.

"Thank you to my coaches and players back in Starkville for pushing me when I needed pushing,” said Simmons, who became the first defensive player to win the Conerly since Mississippi State linebacker Chris White in 2010.

Simmons had special thanks for Jenkins, who he calls his "brother," for the daily battles against each other in pass protection drills.

"One day, he'd get me and the next day I'd get him," Simmons said. "The first day of camp, we decided to get each other better. I feel like I was able to make more plays than other defensive linemen because I didn't face a center stronger than Elgton."

The winner is determined by a panel of statewide media representatives that counts for 90 percent and by fan voting that counts for 10 percent of the award. Simmons led the fan voting with 13,894 votes.

One of the fan votes for Simmons may have belonged to Jenkins, the winner of the sixth annual Entergy/Kent Hull Trophy as the top collegiate offensive lineman in Mississippi.

"He (Simmons) helped me work on the things I needed to improve and I helped him with things he needed to work on," said Jenkins, who started as a redshirt freshman in 2015 at left guard blocking for then-MSU quarterback Dak Prescott before switching to center where he has teamed with QB Nick Fitzgerald. "Our goal each day was to push each other each day to become the best players we could be. I think we reached that goal."